We left Sydney and began our Australian adventure in earnest, renting a car for nearly four weeks with the plan of driving up the east coast.Before setting off, we checked the bank balance and our fears were confirmed that our original budget wasn't going to cut it in Australia and New Zealand. But this minor budgetary crisis did introduce a new concept into our trip, which will most likely become a recurring theme - shared bathrooms. With this in mind, we starte...

Xmas over we had one day of relaxation on the beach to recover from our excesses and then we went straight into preparation for our weekend on the Hawkesbury river before New Year rolled in. Before we left though we went for a short swim in the North Sydney Olympic pool which is in the shadow of the harbour bridge (see the photos for the amazing view). Rachelle refereed children's handstand and touching the bottom competitions while I managed a magnificent 10 len...

Christmas in Australia was weird and wonderful.The weather has been warm with clear skies. This coupled with the amazing sandy beaches and dark blue water seems the furthest thing from winter holidays. Whilst Singapore was decked out in extravagant Christmas decorations, Australia is more understated.To be more precise, there are almost no signs of Christmas on the street or in people's homes.Christmas seems more like a good excuse to get a couple of days off and...